Yellow Paper Planes - Feathers Touch

Jeremy Ebert of Yellow Paper Planes was kind enough to send me a copy of YPPs EP, Feathers Touch. To go with it, he sent me some notes from the band's singer Joshua James, giving some context to what the songs are about. I don't recall anyone ever providing info like that before, and it's a nice treat. Thanks, dudes. What's also kind of neat is that this is a throwback to my old "4 song reviews" from way back in the day! Good times.


Knock Once - Guitar reminds me of Beach House a little, but maybe because I was listening to Beach House earlier in the week. MARACA!!! Knock Once is somber and plodding, not in a negative way though. It's like trying to wade through the complicated muck of the past, still hoping there is something worth finding there. The music has a great layering to it, building a neatly complex melody. Everything picks up during a great crescendo to end the song. It's surprising how rare it is to hear a song end with a crescendo, and it's refreshing here.

Double Life -This is one of those songs that reminds you of other songs you've heard in the past. It reminds me of so many songs, and sounds so familiar, that I can't think of anything specific that it reminds me of. It's a good song, with great pacing and change ups throughout. I can picture this being a single.

Good Lovers - Another song that could be a single. It reminds me of the band, Hum, only not terrible and not completely boring. I guess that would make it the opposite of Hum, but it is stylistically similar. The instruments and vocals compliment each other well in this one. I don't know why, but emotionally, this song makes me a little sad. At 1:25 there is something weird that happens to the singer. I think it is a fault in the copy I'm listening to, or he chose to warble at that particular moment and nowhere else in the song.

Ghost - Man, I love fuzzy guitars. This song is a little heavier with a steady beat with killer fuzz and feedback. Harkens back to the glory days of the 90s. Is it okay for me to pick a favorite? Cause this is it. I really dig this one. It's not like Melvins heavy or anything, but maybe a little bit Screaming Trees? I dunno. Whatever it is, it's great. As I was writing this originally, I realized that the end of Ghost is actually the next track, Annex. I'm just going to go with them being the same song in my head, 'cause it's too good of an ending.

If you are interested, here are the notes they sent me. I think it is nice to have an insight into the creative process behind a piece of art.  Plus, no one told me I couldn't publish it. So there ya go.

from our front man Josh: Quick background on each song:

Knock Once - was written about a couple different women I had similar relationships with. Specifically the chorus comes from the want to help someone and keep them safe even though you aren't near them.

Double Life - was written in the middle of an existential crisis. It's a feeling I go back to a lot, that I'm living multiple incongruous lives but not leading any of them to their fullest extent.

Good Lovers - is a love song at its core, but not one about fiery passion or flowery romance. It instead pays homage to the type of love that comes after spending a large part of your life with someone.

Ghost - was written about a couple things. It's main thread is the struggle to live the life you want before you get snuffed out. It's either advice I'm giving to someone else or ruing the fact that I can't seem to give it to myself.

Overall, it is worth noting the struggles we had putting this EP together. Yellow Paper Planes came together as a four piece in the place of continuing on with the same formula Brandon and I had been operating under as Joshua P. James and the Paper Planes. We wrote an entire set of tunes and went on the road with it only to return and scrap most of what we had worked out. We were set to record a few months later when Brandon broke his hand forcing us to take some time off. During that time off we stripped everything back to the studs again and final developed in the way we all felt good about leading to the recording of "Feather's Touch".

Check out Yellow Paper Planes on their official site, with music downloads and all sorts of pizazz. 

Buzz is a good thing.

I was hanging with Michelle at Ravari Room a few weeks ago and met two of the guys from Sundown. One of them asked me if I knew of the band and I replied that I had heard of them, but hadn't listened to them yet.

He looked visibly disappointed upon hearing this.

Look, in this town, where you can throw a rock in any direction and have a 50% chance of hitting someone who is either in a band or doesn't care about local music at all, meeting someone who has at least heard of your band shouldn't be cause for disappointment.

That's called buzz, son, and a lot of bands would kill for it.

I don't know if Sundown has even put out any albums, EPs, singles, or splits. I don't know anything about them other than what I gathered from meeting these two dudes.

But I've heard of them. Their name is in my head. Which means I will, at some point, go to a show they are playing or look them up on bandcamp or something.

Actually, they are playing tonight, and Michelle and I are already planning to go. She's friends with the dudes in Psychic Wheels, who are also playing.

Divine Fits at Ace of Cups

I gotta admit, I'm a big Sam Brown fan. He's the sole reason I was excited about this band and this show. First with the New Bomb Turks, then later I got into Gaunt (which is kinda backwards, since he was in Gaunt before the Turks; but hey, these things happen) and I just got The Sun's DVD on Friday, but have yet to check it out. I actually didn't know Brown was in The Sun when I purchased it. Funny how things work out sometimes.

Lets be clear; there is a lot of buzz about this band. Pitchfork and Rolling Stone both have hard-ons for the Divine Fits... and they haven't even released an album yet. They're being called a "super group," which I find amusing because the vast majority of people haven't heard of any of the band the members have been in. Expectations among the elitists are high, so how were those expectations met?


Opening band was Connections. They played indie-pop, have 4-6 members, and that's about all I can tell you. I didn't pay them enough attention to give an accurate assessment. Perhaps in the future.

The Divine Fits...

The lads (calling a band, "the lads," is a music writer cliche) looked like they had a lot of fun on stage. Which is always nice, because music is emotional and the emotions of a band come out in their performance.

Dan Boekner (of Wolf Parade and Handsome Furs) did most of the singing and interplay with the audience. After the first song, he named dropped Brown and the crowd cheered (as they damn well should). After that, there wasn't a whole lot of talking other than Boekner happily exclaiming that this was the band's fifth show ever.

Speaking of Boekner; the best word to physically describe him is "spindly." After the Divine Fits finished, they left the stage and walked past me; Boekner happily slapped me on the back as he passed and I was slightly worried his arm might break off.

I'm not knocking the guy; he seemed genuinely happy to be there, playing in this little club for 150 people. That's really cool.

Divine Fits played around 12 songs; which is short considering the longest song they played was a cover of Tom Petty's "You Got Lucky." Or maybe it just seemed short because I was having a good time?

Musically, the songs reminded me a lot of Spoon, which is Britt Daniel's regular gig. This surprised me because the two singles that have been released don't sound anything like Spoon. 

Okay, so here's the skinny; The band enjoyed themselves. The audience enjoyed themselves.

For 15 bucks, I believe I got my money's worth.

A Lackluster Road Trip; SXSW 2012

Columbus' own Lackluster went down to Austin, Texas, to play a show during the SXSW musical festival.

Lackluster's main troubadour, Jon Hayes, is guest blogging today about his adventures to and from Austin.

Day 1
So, we've packed up the van the night before. Jimmy keeps it at his place so we can pick up the drummer in morning after I donate plasma. Let's get this one thing straight, since a gas station attendant found my pre-paid visa card from the plasma center "admirable." I don't give plasma for fun. I do it because I have lots of it and it's worth something; that and the van doesn't run on plasma, so it's a necessary step. 

So we continue on to Springfield, Missouri for our first stop. Springfield is a nice town. It's supposedly a big one, but it looks to actually be about the size of the small suburb of Columbus I'm from. My hometown consists of roughly 25,000 people the last time I bothered to look at the welcome sign. Springfield boasts ten times that, but gives the impression that 90% of them are on vacation somewhere. 

Aside from that, the most recognizable thing about Springfield is that there is zero garbage to be found anywhere. The door guy said they had a homeless problem, but appears the homeless there are keeping things tidy, which is hardly a problem. We ran into one homeless guy. He carried a neatly folded blanket and turned down money, only asking for a cigarette. 

The venue was nice, the sound was not, and we played to practically no one so it didn't matter. The first band said they'd bring 50 people. They brought maybe 5 and bailed as soon as they were done. This behavior tends to piss me off a bit. So you gotta wake up early in the morning? So what? Take 45 minutes to support the band who gave you the show, and who you lied to about your draw. 

Afterwards we continued our trip to Austin, driving through the night.

Day 2
We roll into Austin around 2pm. We throw all of our gear into the hotel room since we plan on heading downtown as soon as possible. We're immediately greeted by "The Masters," upon arrival. They're a rap duo from Oakland who have a slight scent of Outkast to them. They're nice guys, so we tell them we'll give them a lift. We all head down in the van. 

Now, if you've never been to Austin for SXSW let me explain something to you, it's enormous. Are you from Columbus? Do you think Comfest is too big? This is big. It takes about an hour to go the five miles from our hotel room to the downtown area and park. Austin closes just about all of its downtown area, which is about the same size (if not slightly larger) than Columbus. The 3 streets that I stayed on for the majority of our trip were taking up by nonstop venues. In fact, aside from the occasional gift shop, it was pretty much 3 solid streets of bars... with bars stacked on top of them. Every one of them had a band playing. 

At first this seemed incredible. I thought I was about to hear some amazing music from all over the country. What I actually heard was the same music, modern rock, from all over the country. I almost killed myself, but fortunately heard a band from Chicago called "The Break." they had a faint sense of early Fountains of Wayne about them, and certainly stood out in the crowd. 

Almost no bars down there have patios, which forces you to sit in a bar and finish your beer before stepping outside to smoke. If you have a tab running this can be a problem, since the musical onslaught happening just outside can make you forget that you have a beer and credit card waiting for you inside. Fortunately the army of crappy modern rock bands sent back inside with a quickness. 

Afterwards, I headed over to the Dizzy Rooster to catch The Andy Shaw band. Don't let the name confuse you, there are 3 members of the Shaw family in this band. I'd never heard them play before, which is odd because they play all over Columbus all the time. I think they play something like 12 shows a day, but the rock I hide under at home is cool and comforting, so this was my first listen. They were fantastic. They had a tinge of reggae to them, which I can only typically take in 10 second doses like once a year, but they were fantastic. I definitely look forward to catching them around town. 

Almost immediately afterwards we head across the street to catch Phantods. A great thing about SXSW is that's it's a terrific equalizer. You have your big names roll into town in an effort to steal some thunder, but for the most part no one is any bigger than anyone else. The great thing about this is that people are constantly walking into different bars to listen to whoever might be playing, so you're almost guaranteed to be playing to a great crowd if you're in the downtown area. Phantods killed it, even busting out a "My Sharona" cover. If you've not listened to this band yet, you must be living under the rock next to mine. Go check them out. Take your rock with you if need be. 

Afterwards I hand out what's left of my free merch to people on the street and we head back to the hotel. After getting back to the hotel I decide to set some fireworks off in the parking lot. Okay, I decided to set off some smoke bombs I found in the van. There was a band hanging out a few floors up that yelled down to us from above. We spent the rest of the night drinking with them, trading band stories, and setting off some more "toddler safe" fireworks. The band was "Deerpeople." They didn't bug us to listen to their music. We reciprocated. Instead we just hung out. 

Let me say that we're not "friends" with a lot of bands in Columbus. We know people in bands, we talk to people we know in bands when we see them out, but we never hang out with them in our free time. 

Why? I don't know. I just get the impression that most musicians I meet around here are either suffocatingly pretentious or insanely jealous of anyone who gets the slightest bit of attention. We don't get much attention, but we do get the slightest bit, so that includes us apparently. We're really not jerks; we just really don't like jerks. I should note that none of the Columbus bands I talked to down in Austin are in this category. Andy, Chris, and Jim Shaw are some of the nicest people you're likely meet who aren't being paid to sit behind a counter or on the other end of phone line to be that way. Oh, their guitarist's name is John Liberatore. Not only is he also nice, but he has the most awesome non porn star name ever. I'm assuming it's pronounced "liberator." I didn't ask. 

Day 3
We played early. I mean, we played first. I normally dislike this, as do most bands, but I was optimistic since we were in Austin after all. I wasn't disappointed. We had a nice crowd, a couple people taking cell phone pics, and some generous feedback afterwards. Oh, and the sound was freaking unbelievably good. That's not just our show. The sound EVERYWHERE was incredibly good. 

But anyways, we leave our gear in the back room at the venue and venture off to take advantage of corporate giveaways that aim to take advantage of us. We eat and drink for free, and by that I mean we eat and drink things that can be (and are) tossed out of the back of a truck. I don't mind. 

I sit and watch an outdoor two stage spectacle for a while. Two stages, one band plays the other sets up. The bands seem to be in competition to out dress one another, but sound exactly the same. We recall the Deerpeople had mentioned they were playing at 8pm just out of the downtown area, so we all jump in the van to head down there. They put on a helluva show. For the last song the singer strips down to his unmentionables and climbs on the bar. This might not sound like the most intriguing thing in the world, if you regularly strip down to almost nothing and climb on things, but this fella personifies this behavior and the rest of the band makes music to back it up. I wanted to say there was a hint of Decemberists and Arcade Fire there, but it was actually more like Deerpeople are the ones who won their balls in some late night drunken bar wager.

We hung out for a minute after before they had to head out to play another show. Note to self, book more shows at SXSW next year. While hanging out on the patio I get an e-mail from a lady asking if we'd like to play this bar. The bar is right up the street. Half our gear is still downtown. The other half is back at the hotel. So, I call. The lady has no idea what I'm talking about. Never mind that she sent ME an e-mail. She says she'll pass on our info to the event coordinator. That guy calls me back, but I missed the call. So, I call back. I get voicemail, but it says something like "You've reach Pure Lame Label and Promotions..." I don't leave a message. We decide to go meet these people in person since it's right down the street. 

We arrive at the venue and I track down the event coordinator. He's wearing a pink silk shirt, hipster glasses, and a pony tail to provide visibility of his Bluetooth earpiece. I don't tell him he looks like an asshole. Instead I ask about the show. Apparently they had to shut down because their permit only allowed for music up to 70db. I've farted louder than that. 

Anyways, this resulted in the police showing up and shutting down the music. The bands all scrambled and they had nothing. We say we don't mind and we'll play, even though my singing is probably louder than that. He asks when we can be ready, and I say 11pm... which is in an hour. Amazingly we fight through traffic to the venue downtown, get our gear, fight through traffic out of downtown to our hotel room, throw the drums in the back of the van, and fight through traffic going back downtown. We arrive ten minutes early. It's a SXSW miracle. Wait, who's the other band talking to our event guy? This is a band from who knows where. They're dressed nice. We were clean at the beginning of the day, but we just ran all over town. We probably looked like garbage. The owner of the venue is out there as well. This is never good. He tells us that they asked this other band to play too and that they wouldn't be needing us after all. 

I'm pissed, but what can you do? He offers us a show next year, comps us a meal and drinks, and asks if there's anything else he can do. I look across the street, notice a huge stage with lights going and a band playing. I say, "Maybe. Do you know the owner over there?" We walk across the street and he tracks down the owner while I continue to look like I just got molested by a sweat monster. The owner of this other venue comes out. We exchange pleasantries and he tells me that, being 11:30 and that his permit only goes until midnight, he can't let us play but invites us to come back tomorrow. We have an Oklahoma City show the next day, so we have to decline. I go back across the street, grab a CD, and head back to talk to the guy again. I give him our disc; he commends me on my attitude and offers some sympathy for the mess across the street. I inquire about a show the next year. 

So, hopefully we'll have two shows. Neither place are likely to forget who we are. We go home. We hang out with Deerpeople again, drinking until 7am. Oh, they're awesome by the way.


Day 4
We get to OKC. 

The "headliner" is already there. They're from LA. they're all late 30's to mid 40's and look every bit ten years older than that. No worries though, they still manage to squeeze into black leather pants and rock Spinal Tap haircuts. 

We play our show to a receptive crowd. Another band from Portland goes on next. The crowd likes them too. The LA band takes the stage next. 

Now keep in mind that OKC is where the Flaming Lips are from. There are Flaming Lips posters on the wall. The Flaming Lips make awesome music. This band sounds like the most asinine rock you've ever heard. Every song sounds exactly the same, three chords, not even a one octave vocal range, and a drummer who either hasn't gotten any better since his second year of playing or is getting paid too much to care. 

The singer is a tool. He appears to be drunk, but I don't think he actually is. He just sways and mumbles. It seems to be a stage act. He rolls around on the ground a bit, throwing the microphone around. Note to other bands, sound guys don't like bands throwing their gear around.

The sound guy immediately dislikes them. In fact, the whole bar immediately dislikes them, as it's practically empty by their third song. The singer doesn't like the look of things. He demands that he be paid attention to, singling out people playing pool in the back, telling them to stop and "get the hell up here." No don't respond. He calls for action, demanding the patrons turn over every table in the place and rush for the stage. It's not happening. 

I can't watch anymore of this train wreck so I head outside. Not five minutes later Jimmy (our bassist) comes out holding Chris. Chris is a machine. It's the brain of our show. We'd rather have a human play keyboard instead of Chris, but the last guy we tried out flaked on us. Guess what his name was? 

Apparently the singer felt it necessary to climb on our gear, which was sitting off stage, and knocked over Chris. He appears to be broken. I plug him in. He powers up, and the meters run, but I can't listen to it. It runs on a hard drive, so I'd have to listen to every song to see if any damage had been done. This makes me upset. 

I go back inside. The second band offers their assistance in rectifying the situation, as does the sound guy. He cuts them a couple songs short. The singer walks off, down the hallway parallel to the stage, and I follow. when he turns around I'm there, towering over him by at least a foot. I express my disappointment in his actions. I don't yell, but he takes me seriously. He offers to do "anything" to make it right.  I don't press what "anything" means coming from a poor LA rock band, so I press for money instead.

We were offered a $100 guarantee for playing. I assumed they were too. Chris is more expensive to replace than that. I tell him to give us his guarantee. He obliges, and approaches the promoter to communicate this new transaction. At this point she takes his check, tears it up, and writes us a new one, for three hundred dollars more. I'm somewhat insulted these jackasses got paid more than we did, but at least I know what they're willing to pay. Next time I'll ask for more. 

Anyways, $300 is more than used Chris goes for on eBay... actually I just check; it's a little less than what Chris goes for on eBay. Still, at the time I thought it was more, so I offered to let him keep some of his band's money. After all, it’s not the whole bands' fault that he's an idiot. He insisted I take it though. So we left making $400 instead of $100, plus merch sales. 

The rest of the band apologized for their singer's behavior. They were nice enough guys, even if their bands sucked something awful. However, their guitarist felt that the most just resolution would be if they kept Chris, seeing as how they were paying for him. I was reluctant. First of all, our whole show is on there. There's something like 30 songs on there that I'd completely have to redo. I have backups, but still. It's a tedious process, and one I wasn't looking forward to doing again. 

It seemed as though the guitarist might pick Chris up at any moment and throw him on the ground, breaking him into a million pieces to prove some point. The singer interjected though, and they left. We waited until after they left before packing up, so their singer wouldn't break anything else of ours, and headed home. Chris appears to be working fine. I felt like Lloyd in Dumb and Dumber, tricking those truckers at the diner into picking up their tab. We weren't murdered miles down the road either. It was a good night.

Time for a new band

My first band was a short-lived (but long notorious) punk band called Third Trimester Abortion. My second band was a rap group (also notorious) called Hotsauce. We recorded, like, 30 songs. Ask, and I'll send you some. Third band was a country group that never got off the ground called, Kissin' Cousins. Kissin' Cousins had songs like, "You Crashed a Plane into the Twin Towers of My Heart," and, "She Left Me for our Son."

Now, I have determined the next band I start will be called, Moonwolf.

Moonwolf is a shitcore metal band that only plays covers of Xfactor1 and Bobaflex. Our band t-shirts are made from shirts we buy at Walmart and Goodwill that have wolves and Moons printed on them.

Try to come up with something better than that. I dare you.

Get Right

This would have been a proper review of the Get Right dance party thingamabob, however, I wasn't able to attend. Yes, sad faces all around. Transportation difficulties kept me from cutting a rug.

However, intrepid journalist and object of my jealousy for her wordsmithing skill, Erica Strauss sent me the following text message from the event;

"Dude this get right is so fun"

Short, sweet, to the point. Wish I could have been there.

By the way, I wasn't being sarcastic at all about Miss Erica's writing skill. I am also very jealous of her day job.

Food Carts Festival

Last weekend I attended the Food Cart Festival at the Columbus Commons with Natalia of We Are Glitterati. It was the busiest I've seen Downtown with the exception of Red, White, and Boom. This is not necessarily a good thing.

The concept is awesome. A bunch of food trucks (not the boring gyro/brat types) all in one area with beer, live music, and various booths of community minded businesses. Like a smaller Comfest, really.

Looks good on paper, not so much in execution.

The event was to last from 6pm - 10pm. More than half the food trucks were closed due to running out of food by 8pm. The lines for food easily lasted an hour. Herds of people were tripping over each other to shuffle anywhere as about half the Commons was cut off from the event by barricades (no doubt because of the alcohol).

Much like Comfest, the bloat of too many people is what hurt this festival.

Because so many of the food trucks closed early, the ones that remained open saw even longer lines. Many people were leaving without getting anything to eat because they refused to stand in line for an hour or more.

Ray Ray's Hog Pit was advertised for the event but wasn't there; after talking to one of the Ray Ray's guys (not Jaimie, the owner), I was informed that Ray Ray's never agreed to be there at all and wasn't even contacted. Interesting.

For the live music, there seemed to be a preponderance of hip hop (no issues with that) but the closing band was a cover band. A pretty good and lively cover band, but still. I will hand it to the cover band though; they got white people to do the "drunk white person dance," you know the one; girls in peasant skirts swaying jarringly with their arms in the air.

Jeni's Ice Cream truck was the only one we visited as it had the smallest line (not because no one was buying Jeni's, but because it was moving the fastest). I tried the Goat Cheese and Cherry for the first time and it was divine. It tasted like a combination of cherry cheesecake and a girl in her early twenties. Delicious.

I'm not sure what to suggest to improve the festival for next year. I like the idea of a food truck festival as the food trucks in the town are pretty amazing. It's good for all of these small business owners, it's good for downtown (Dirty Frank's and Little Palace were packed), and it's good for people to just get out of the house and do interact with other people. But all of this is limited when you can't get the food you came to get, and you can't move or talk due to the oppressively large crowd. How do you fix that?

Check out the We Are Glitterati blog, Facebook, and Twitter pages.

Dubstep

After a brief hiatus, I am back. You're welcome.

I've noticed that there has been a surge in popularity of dubstep in this City. For those unfamiliar with dubstep, here is my loose description; techno with heavy bass, rapid even sudden changes in tempo, and lots of weird shit going on.

This popularity reminds me of the techno boom of the 90s. Remember that? I'm not talking about Moby or Fatboy Slim of the late 90s. I'm referring to the movement that started with the Mortal Kombat movie soundtrack. Yeah, there were lots of electronic musicians and bands before then, but the release and popularity of that soundtrack really put electronic music on the mainstream map.

Dubstep groups tend to use the old techno props of hoods, masks - anything to hide the identity of the programmers/DJs. I've never really understood this.

On the other hand, the rise in popularity of dubstep (every time I hear or read the word, I automatically think of Jamaican music) doesn't seem to have a notable flash point. It's just grown. Shoot, we have like 15 dubstep shows/events/club nights a month in this city right now.

I wonder when the Dubstep Bubble will pop. Because it will.

In the meantime, check out roeVy. They are suitably weird, interesting, and put on a good show. Laser eyes, dudes. Laser eyes.

Strangers in Daylight, Burglar, Spruce Campbells

There was an excellent turnout at Hotel War's CD release show at Skully's last night. The hippest kids in Columbus were there; and there are a lot of the buggers.

Opening act Strangers in Daylight were a pleasant surprise. A standard three-piece, their unfortunately short set was fun, lively, and got a decent amount of people to the dance floor. It helps that they seemed like they were friends with everyone in attendance, but that's Skully's for ya. I look forward to seeing Strangers in Daylight again in the future.

Burglar, of course, got all the women dancing. Which was amusing to watch because all of the "cool" hipster guys wear standing in a semi-circle, encasing a horde of young, fashionable females grooving on the dance floor. The sweet sounds of the lovely and gorgeous Lindsay Ciulla's mellophone and the sultry and dripping-with-sex appeal singing of Mehgan Hutchinson melded perfectly with the percussion of Drum Guy, Upright Electric Bass Dude, Guitar And Sometimes Vocals Guy, and Keyboard Dude. I'm not trying to be a jerk guys; but you are honestly not what I or any other straight guy is paying attention to when we see Burglar play. However, you will be happy to know that every single girl I know says things that I can not mention here about you. Suffice to say, they find all of you to be very handsome fellas and would like to do naughty things with you. So there ya go.

Couldn't stay long as I had to rapidly travel to Kobo using Columbus' red-headed stepchild of public transportation - the COTA bus. The Spruce Campbells were closing out Kobo and I told a couple people I would be there.

Not enough is said about Kobo. I think the sound at the old Oldfield's on High is superior to most (if not all) bars in town. Unlike some other more prominent places, the vocals don't get drowned out, the balance of guitars, bass, drums, etc isn't all out of whack, and the acoustics of the room just seem better.

Anyway, the Spruce Campbells killed it. Unfortunately, it was late so the crowd was small (but still good for the late hour). Some pre-set jamming to Rush by Chris Cheeseman the drummer and guitarist Matthew Forney was welcome (and amusing). Chelsea Moore's and Jason Kusowski's vocals complimented each other perfectly. The band seemed to be having fun, and that translated to the crowd; there was dancing and smiles everywhere. Chelsea tells me that she has no groupies, and I think this is an absolute crime. With her voice and looks, she should be beating dudes off with a stick.

Also in attendance at the Spruce Campbells show was Scott Ball (accompanied by his lovely fiance) of the tragically defunct Asthmo. Few people probably remember Asthmo, but they were good. Real good. However, their demise brought about The Nuclear Children, which begat the Spruce Campbells (which is apparently going to give birth to a bouncing Barker's Beauties at some point). Sometimes it's weird how everyone in Columbus is connected. Also, you just got a short lesson in some Columbus indie band history.

You're welcome.



Essential Music Videos - 90's Indie Rock

Shows this weekend

Friday:

The lovely Salty Caramels are going to make Happy Hour at Woodlands Tavern happier than ever.

Following the Salty Caramels; Erika Carey, the Spruce Campbells, Marvin the Robot, and the Glass Winged Sharp Shooters finish the night at Woodland Tavern

At Circus; Dirty Girls, George Elliot Underground, Nathan Kalish and the Wildfire, and Hotel War perform in a TRIO production.

Kobo presents Bicentennial Bear, SPD GVNR (I love that name), and Vanity Theft


Saturday:

Skully's and TRIO present Burglar's CD Release show, with the ever-present Phantods, and Two Cow Garage.

The Briar Patch presents Verner Caliper who have one of the best flyer/posters I've seen in a while.

Sexiness, Spruce Campbells, and other stuff

Sometime in the near future, Quarantine will interview Jason of The Spruce Campbells. It should have happened earlier this month, but my old tape recorder went to the Big Analog Tape Depository in the Sky.

Speaking of The Spruce Campbells, their next EP should be coming out soon and I have been informed that it is very, "sexy." Sexy is always good.

Ino other news, Lackluster is having a CD release show at Ravari Room on April 15 with Lost Revival, The Spruce Campbells, and a mystery guest. Wouldn't it be cool if Hotsauce had a reunion?

Quarantine is also looking for a new reviewer. We have a back log of albums that need to be written up. You won't get paid, but you'll get a by-line, free music, and maybe make some new connections.

We always take submissions of any music; from a single song, to a rock opera. So if you are in a band, send us your stuff and we'll give it a fair review. Submissions always take precedence over anything else (anything else meaning stuff I pick up at the record shop, which is currently what the back-log consists of)

Lastly, Quarantine is one of the very few music blogs in Columbus. Less pretentious than half of a hipster, but still cooler than your mom.

CD101 @ 102.5

Image via WikipediaOh, CD101, I don't know what to say to you.

You have had a great influence on my life, perhaps more than any other source of media other than Ranger Rick. I have been a loyal listener for nigh on 20 years now, and I will remain loyal until the day one of us dies.

That being said, as a fan, as a member of the extended family of CD101 listeners (and we are all a family, brought even closer together with the tragic loss of our adopted father, Andyman), as someone who loves you as much as anyone can, I have a suggestion for you.

This suggestion is from my heart, and not to be taken as anything but meaningful and hopeful advice. Something to think about, experiment with, learn from, or ignore.

I will not suggest that you stop playing certain overplayed and awful bands or music; like U2 or Red Hot Chili Peppers or ska, for example. I will not tell you that if you do not follow my suggestion you will fail and suck and I will hate you - I could never hate you, and I will always desire the best for you. No, CD101, you are too good to be yelled at or chastised; you do so much good for the city and surrounding communities already.

As the "Alternative Station" you have such an opening to play new and less known music; more than any other station in the region. You already do this very well, but here is a suggestion to consider.

A bi-weekly Hip Hop/alternative rap show. It would focus on lesser known, underground, indie-label, and local acts. You already play Outkast, Beastie Boys, Flobots, and others so it isn't that far out from what you are already doing. The Independent Playground and Local Stuff are wonderful and definitely should stay, but this would supplement them and allow them to concentrate on underground and local rock music.

Alternative rap is a rapidly growing trend just as alternative rock was 20 years ago. With musical styles merging as much as they do now, with rap, rock and even country are mixing together, it makes sense to be at the forefront of this wave.

No other Columbus radio station has this market. Power 107.5? Nope, they play only the most popular hits by the most popular (and talentless) "artists."

You have a golden opportunity, CD101 @ 102.5

Just something to think about.

Related articles

• 'Andyman' remembered for support of music, charity (dispatch.com)
• CD101's "Andyman" Davis Passed Away (rightcelebrity.com)

Spruce Campbells - The Lessons We Learned From Ghosts

Jason of the Spruce Campbells told me this is their "pop" EP.  While it is certainly more poppy than their previous two EP's, it can't really be called poppy compared to the conventional wisdom's idea of pop music sound. Just like their previous two EP's, this one is full of gorgeous music that sounds both strikingly familiar yet substantially different than anything you've heard before. They are playing at Skully's tomorrow night, which is the official release of this EP. I recommend you go and buy it along with their previous two EP's - you will love them.

Star Girl -Very catchy. Probably the catchiest song on the record.  Lyrically, it isn't particularly poignant, but I doubt that it's meant to be. Jason's vocals are reminiscent of Crash Test Dummies, while Chelsea's have that sexy, smokey sound; they compliment each other perfectly. There is only one hiccup in the song - after the third verse, "gonna getcha, getcha, getcha, HEY!" doesn't seem to really fit; at least to my ears. It by no means ruins the song, I just don't care for that line.

Hell O's - I love the opening guitar, and the drumming is definitely poppy (and good). The conversational style of the singing should be trademarked by The Spruce Campbells - I really like how Chelsea and Jason go back and forth with the lyrics. Jason asked me which song I think should be the single, and I pick this one. It just seems so accessible and (ignoring the lyrics only because they are kind of depressing) is simply a fun tune to listen to. Which actually gives the song layers of depth you don't hear much anymore - a fun, happy sounding song with sad, buzzkill lyrics. Nicely done, and well played sirs and madam.

With You - This song has a distinct 50's pop sound. Like it could be played during the school dance in Back to the Future. I wonder what it would sound like with 3 female back-up singers. They could be named "The Sharlene's," and stand 6 feet behind Chelsea and wave their hands in front of them while they sing. Listening to this makes you want to go necking with your steady in the front seat of a Dodge at the dead end of Lover's Lane.

A Farewell - The counterpart to With You, A Farewell sounds more like the general sound of the first EP than the other songs on this disc. This is a death song; two lovers saying their final goodbyes. It is sadly sweet, and probably the deepest, lyrically, of the songs on the record. This is also my favorite song out of the four (followed closely by With You). Jason sings lead, with Chelsea backing in a beautifully soft undertone.

The Spruce Campbells around the internet:
Bandcamp - listen to the album for free
Myspace
Facebook

Darynyck - The Chaotic LP

New post title format - how evolutionary!

Today's review is of Darynyck's newest release; The Chaotic LP.  Daryn and Nyck switch lead vocals and instruments throughout album, and all the songs were recorded by the two in various basements and attics.

Listening to this album, it would probably lead you to believe that Darynyck are heartbroken and depressed individuals. It's a stark contrast to their live performances, where they are cheerful, fun, and very personable.  The songs on The Chaotic LP are beautiful in their simplicity, and absolutely gorgeous in the feelings they evoke in the listener. These are themes that most people have felt at one point or another, but are difficult to put into words.  Darynyck has found a way to express and deliver these themes and feelings in a surprisingly upbeat style that manages to remain honest without seeming condescending.  I think I love this album.

Make Some Music - A primer on starting a band because, "you're tired of working for the man."  I could totally see this song being played on Sesame Street by a band of muppets to teach kids about playing music.  It's a sweet, fun song that's just enjoyable to listen to.  It isn't full of profound or deep lyrics, or overly complicated compositions.  It's just a couple dudes making music.

Working Hard (Going Nowhere) - Light, fast-paced, with simple arrangements.  The song pretty much asks the listener if it's all worth it?  Going to college to get a job, working hard, but you never know what's going to happen, do you?  What is time well-spent?  What is really worth it?  It's a rhetorical question, obviously, but lyrically this song is a stark contrast to the previous track.

Chaotic - Interestingly, one of the first songs I heard from Darynyck a few years ago. Although the liner notes say it was recorded in 2006, so I guess that shouldn't be surprising. Acoustic pop with lots going on in the background - tambourine, claps, harmonica.  Nyck sings, with Daryn and guest Gabe; on backing vocals.  I've known my share of chaotic women and this song reminds me of all of them. However, I have to wonder; is the behavior really chaotic? Or more like indecisive?

Pure and True - Different style than the previous tunes. Different feel; more like a traditional folk song. The whistling complements the rest of the music; in most other songs by other artists that contain whistling, it is often used as a centerpiece of sorts - and usually sucks.  Not here.  The lyrics remind me... unfortunately they remind me of myself and a past relationship in a lot of ways.  I listened to this song a few times; just reminiscing about the past and how I'm glad I'm sane after all that happened.

Same Old Song - Another simple and straightforward tune with some cool guitar effects that do not overshadow the singing.

Pieces - Jesus, another song that seems to be ripped from my own experiences.  I'm starting to think that Darynyck are telepathic and have scoured my brain.  Or are these themes more universal and shared than I previously thought?  Beautiful song in a tragic way.

Now or Never -Quick tempo, still going along with the theme of complicated love and sad, failing relationships.  Now I'm convinced they've been stalking me and taking notes.  This is a gorgeous song, but kind of hurts to listen to, as it strikes too close to home.

Alive - This is another song that is slowed down, downcast in mood, and full of honest feeling. 

Waiting (Did It Again) - "Well it looks like I fucked up, I did it again..."  I think this is the only song with swearing in it, and that conservative usage really adds to the power of the word.  While on the surface it doesn't seem like it, this song seems bitter to me.  Bitter at the narrators feeling of being at fault, and bitterness at hoping for something better. I may be wrong, but art is up to the interpretation of the audience, right?

New City Lights - A song about moving on.  The singing wraps around the beat rather than being subordinate to timing (which is how 99% of all rock songs are), which is pretty neat.  The music is upbeat and a little quicker in tempo than most of the other songs on the album.

Last A Lifetime - A departure from the styles of the previous songs.  Much more focused on the lyrics and singing, rather than the instrumentation.

Without You, It's True - The perfect closer for the album.  The last line sums up not only this song, but the entire feeling of the album; "I hope you'll come around." 


If I had heard this album a year ago, it would have never left my CD player and I probably would have cried everytime I listened to it.  I know some people who could use the catharsis, and I will be passing this on to them.  Buy this album, borrow it from a friend, just find a way to listen to it. It is well worth it.

One last thing; My favorite Darynyck song is I'm So Sad (which DID help me through a rough patch), unfortunately I'm So Sad is on the Sasquatch Sessions, which is an album I do not have, nor have I listened to. Someday I hope to rectify that.


Darynyck on Sonicbids, Myspace, Youtube, and CD Baby

Album Review: Mosques, Museums, and Mausoleums by The Spruce Campbells

Mosques, Museums, and Mausoleums is the first of five or six, 4 song EP's. Each EP has its own title, but all are (or rather, will be) collectively called, The Bipolar Coordinates EP's.

Each EP is to have 2 pairs of songs (for you quick ones out there, that's a total of 4 songs), with the songs in each pair to have similar themes or styles that bring them together.


I think I've listened to these 4 songs more times than the last 4 albums I've received or bought combined.  It kind of makes me scared as to what kind of earth-shaking, sheet-clenching, toe-curling orgasm I'm going to have when I listen to the next 4 discs.

actual review after you scroll down and look at the album art...







Black Sunshine is a gorgeous tune that is reminiscent of The Pixies with the soft female lead and a kind of obnoxious male chorus.  I don't mean that the chorus is bad in any way, I'm just saying Frank Black had an obnoxious voice and this is comparable. Musically however, it is far more complicated than a Pixies tune.  When I heard this song live, it struck me as being more similar to the Dandy Warhol's, but I get none of that here on the album.  Great song on the album, amazing song to hear live.

More O's just made me cream my jeans for the umpteenth time.  Everything about this song makes me happy.  There is clapping, and clapping is good.  The transitions from simple and soft to bombastic and crazy is amazing.  The keyboards, guitars, drums, vocals, violin; everything in this makes me want to have sex with the song.  If only that were possible.

So Tired is a Fugazi cover.  Putting a cover song on an album can be hit or miss with some bands; it's a tribute to a song or band you really like, but if you don't make it your own, what's the point?  The best covers tend to sound very different than the originals.  Spruce Campbells manage to make this song their own without drastically changing anything.  It's a beautiful song, centered around Chelsea Moore's vocals and keyboard accompaniment (sorry, I'm not sure who was playing the keys).

Far Away is a song that causes complicated emotions in the listener.  It starts with just piano and vocals (Chelsea Moore again, as on every song on this album), then drums and violin join in.  The conversation between the male and female vocalists will strike a chord with anyone who ever felt the need that to just get the hell out of Dodge and leave everything behind.  The song is on one hand sad, but on the other hand kind of hopeful.

Well kids, that ends my review of the Spruce Campbells EP, Mosques, Museums, and Mausoleums.  If you want a mind-blowing experience, check them out live and buy the album.

Other places to hear The Spruce Campbells' music...
Myspace
Facebook
Bandcamp

A Primer on Columbus Music pt 1

Bands in Columbus are constantly evolving, mutating, and changing. Contrary to what Cringe.com says about the "Columbus Sound," there is very little that any Columbus band has in common with any other Columbus band.

there is no such thing as a "Columbus Sound."

that phrase is simply a marketing term, and as with most marketing terms, it does a huge disservice to everyone involved.

As far as i care to go back, there have been three major musical movements in Columbus in the past 25 years. these three trends aren't clear cut, overlap each other, and many bands do not fall into these loose categories.

the Punk movement of the 80's and early 90's; bands such as New Bomb Turks, Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments, and Great Plains.

The 90's and early 2000's Pop movement with Royal Crescent Mob, Watershed, The Sun, and Tiara

The Stoner Metal trend with Deadsea, Evil Queens, and Teeth of the Hydra among others

there has also been a growing hip hop community with such greats as Blueprint, Envelope and Hotsauce.

A lot of the older bands are still around and still very influential to the younger bands coming up.
For example, the New Bomb Turks are still one of the best live bands in the city, and they can really be called a national band now (or even international: i have a DVD of them in Edinburgh, Scotland for christ' sake).

Our Columbus venues support these trends.
Bernies Distillery, while slowly dying, was for a very long time the BEST place to see punk shows. i say slowly dying because it's true. Bernie's nowadays is a far cry from what it used to be. i blame the smoking ban; the scenesters used to stay inside and smoke and be seen and could act cool while listening to a band. Now, all the little kids who think they're bad-ass lil' punx hang out outside and never even hear the bands they paid 5 bucks to see. As Bernie's dies, i think the Columbus punk seen will die with it. Not completely die out, of course, but it will be dealt a serious blow.

Cafe Bourbon Street and The Summit, as well as the numerous house show places have helped to further reduce Bernie's reputation. They don't usually showcase the frenetic hardcore acts that populated Bernie's, but they've taken everything else. Plus Cafe Bourbon Street has a built in hotdog stand (not as good as Taco Ninja though)

Ravari Room is THE place to see metal shows in the city. there is absolutely no where else that can get the talent Ravari Room gets in terms of metal bands. Cheap beer, decent service, good food, and awesome bands.

Skully's has decent support of local bands, including a free local show every week, but seems to be moving towards national electronic dance and hip hop acts.

Carabar could be the best venue in the city for local bands except for two reasons; location, and clientelle. the location is on Parsons in Olde Town East, far from just about everything else in a high crime neighborhood. The clientelle is mostly (but not all) snooty, elitist scene kids. I know that Carabar has had that reputation for a while now, and from what i hear things have been changing, but i've never felt welcome, i've never seen the kids dance or move at all to any band, and it just makes me kinda sad. They tend to have the more "artsy" and experimental bands, as well as a decent, if limited, selection of local punk and metal bands. For a band, if you don't know the people at Carabar and you somehow get a gig there, you're probably not going to have a good time.

The Circus ruined what used to be a great bar, the High 5. No, i'm not talking about the High 5 you probably remember from the past 5 years. I'm talking about the bar BEFORE it was renovated. No windows; just dank, smoky darkness and a 50 year old nasty woman bartending and local and regional punk bands tearing it up. From what i can tell, Circus is a gay bar made for straight people. Their biggest night of the week is karaoke, if that helps you out any.

There are lots of house shows as well. If you are unfamiliar, it is simply a house whose owners or renters have converted the building into a concert hall. Legion of Doom has been around forever and is for you straightedge kids. but there is also Monster House and Metronome House (acoustic) to name a few.